Anyone who gets drunk on an e-scooter and drives around with it not only puts themselves in danger, but also those around them. This could have serious consequences in the future.
In principle, drunk e-scooter drivers are not suitable for driving a car. The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Frankfurt came to this decision. In the future, such negligent action could result in the withdrawal of the driver’s license.
The trigger was an incident in spring 2022. The police stopped a man who was traveling in Frankfurt on an e-scooter and with 1.64 per thousand alcohol in his blood. The Frankfurt district court then sentenced him to a fine of 600 euros and a six-month driving ban. However, his driver’s license was not revoked.
The Higher Regional Court then overturned the district court’s judgment. The Higher Regional Court justified the decision by imperatively withdrawing the driver’s license if the legal requirements for this are met (§ 69 Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 StGB). This is the case “if the act shows that the perpetrator is unsuitable for driving motor vehicles”. There is no room for the judge’s discretion, nor is there a proportionality test. The commission of a drunk driving – as here – justifies a standard presumption for the unsuitability of the perpetrator to drive motor vehicles.
Only if the circumstances of the crime differ significantly from those of an average case can the withdrawal of the driver’s license be deviated from in rare exceptions. The district court wrongly accepted such reasons here. The fact that the defendant did not drive a car but drove an e-scooter is irrelevant. According to the assessment of the legislator, even small electric vehicles – such as e-scooters – are vehicles (§ 1 eKFV) and are therefore subject to the general regulations applicable to them.